Ramona’s Chavez wins D4 girls title
MISSION VIEJO » Lucy Chavez stopped by the CIF Southern Section merchandise table to snap up a chenille patch.
“What she wants most of all is a (letterman’s) jacket,” Chavez’s mother said after Friday’s competition ended.
The first patch for that jacket will represent a memorable moment. Chavez, a freshman from Ramona High School, captured the Division 4 girls diving title at the Marguerite Aquatics Complex with a total of 405.45 points.
Chavez is the first athlete in Ramona’s 65-year history to win an individual section championship in aquatics. She also is Riverside County’s first diving champ since King’s Raina Brommer won the Division 2 girls title in 2015.
“It’s exciting to be the first one for Ramona,” said Chavez, who has been diving since she was 7 years old.
Chavez was in a unique position Friday because she was the lone entrant in the Division 4 girls competition.
“You still have to go out and try hard to do your best, even if you are the only one,” Chavez said.
The Division 3 and Division 4 diving championships ran concurrently, so Chavez was included among a group of nearly two dozen other female divers in the Division 3 field. Eric Lesser, Chavez’s diving coach, said that was a positive thing for Chavez.
“It would have been different if she was out there by herself,” Lesser said. “In the end, the biggest goal is trying to improve your dives and scores from meet to meet. So, in that aspect, your competition is yourself.”
Chavez’s two biggest strengths Friday were her composure and consistency. Chavez scored at least 30 points on each of 11 her dives, and the majority of those received scores between 6.0 and 8.0 from the panel of judges.
“I don’t really get nervous anymore,” Chavez said about competing in her initial CIF Southern Section finals. “I beat my previous score from a high school meet, so I’m proud of that. But there is room for improvement.”
Chavez opened the competition with a reverse dive pike from the 3-meter springboard, and she earned scores of 6.5 and 7.0 from the judges. Her next dive, a forward 1 ½ somersault with one twist from the 3-meter board, scored 40.95 points, as the judges awarded her 6s and 7s. Chavez’s best scoring dive came in the fifth round, as she earned 42 points on an inward double somersault tuck from the 3-meter board. Chavez received a couple of 8s from the judges on her sixth dive of the competition, an inward dive pike from the 1-meter
Ramona freshman Lucy Chavez won the CIF Southern Section Division 4girls diving championship Friday.
springboard.
“To be a freshman, and be competing at a championship venue like this, I am so proud of how well she did and handled the big moment,” Lesser said. “She really focused in on finishing every dive the way she know how to.
“She has dove at big venues and against strong competition for a while, so she doesn’t get intimated by that. With some athletes, when the lights are the brightest, those nerves can get to them. But never in her case.”
Chavez was most proud of her 10th dive: a reverse 1½ somersault tuck that received scores of 6.5s and 7s.
“I think I nailed that one, so it felt great.” Chavez said of the dive that added 40.95 points to her score.
Nine other Inland divers finished in the Top 16 in their respective divisions.
Diamond Bar junior Mackenzie Kim placed seventh in the Division 1 girls competition with a score of 438.55. Los Osos sophomore Carlie Rose finished 13th with a score of 397.50.
Ayala junior Jaymie Yow was 14th in the Division 2 girls competition with a score of 384.25, and Claremont freshman Meleia Palmer placed 15th with 379.50 points. Bonita freshman Zeke Bowers was sixth in the Division 2 boys competition with 199.80 points.
Bonita senior Megan Ono placed sixth in the Division 3 girls competition with a score of 379.90. Alta Loma junior Hannah Solt finished ninth (372.90), and Bonita freshman Mackenzee Felt was 16th (287.60).
Lakeside sophomore Max Reis-Trovillion finished fourth in the Division 4 boys competition with a score of 418.15.